Locals tell where they were at time of blast

Published: Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 8:31 p.m.

Every Terrebonne resident older than 50 seems to have a personal downtown explosion story, and younger locals repeat their parents' experiences.

Eva Ledet phoned while I was still seeking the precise date; she remembers it because it happened on her birthday.

Broadmoor druggist Dean Pellegrin was playing football with friends in a lot in Mulberry subdivision.

An hour earlier, the then-Terrebonne High School senior had been on Houma's Main Street, going store to store distributing fliers.

One of his stops had been LaTour's Jewelry, where his sister sometimes worked. At the sound of the blast he and his football friends rushed downtown. LaTour's had been torn open by the blast and pieces of its stock hung from overhead wires and court square limbs like Mardi Gras beads.

David Dupre reports that his mother had been downtown shopping and had just started for home “down the bayou.”

Just as they crossed the Intracoastal Waterway on the old Main Street bridge, downtown exploded.

Downtowners: Emanuel Geiger had good reason to recall the explosion, just blocks from his own Main Street store. He knew the date, but not the precise time, e-mailing, “However it was in the evening. I was in our store, Universal Mens Wear at 318 E. Main St. at the time.

“My mother was an employee of Latour's,” e-mailed Kenneth Dusenberry, 17 years old at the time of the explosion. “Thank God the store was closed at the time!

“I was an employee of the Bijou theater and a dispatcher for the White Cab Company. ... Main Street looked like a war zone; broken glass from Lafayette to Barrow. ... Martial law was imposed.”

The National Guard helped city police barricade Main and Lafayette streets to Barrow Street, with no passage allowed at night. “Guardsmen patrolled the area well armed, protecting from looters. ... It was a scary time for a young man just starting his first teenage jobs.”

Classes are scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. Check with the sponsoring Terrebonne Fine Arts Guild for registration information. Workshop fees are $75 and up, depending on membership in the Arts Guild.

The real beat: The visibly intoxicated owner whose car came to rest upside down told investigators he was not driving, that his girlfriend had been at the wheel but jumped out just 30 seconds before the crash. He was charged with DWI anyway.

<p>Every Terrebonne resident older than 50 seems to have a personal downtown explosion story, and younger locals repeat their parents' experiences.</p><p>Eva Ledet phoned while I was still seeking the precise date; she remembers it because it happened on her birthday.</p><p>Broadmoor druggist Dean Pellegrin was playing football with friends in a lot in Mulberry subdivision.</p><p>An hour earlier, the then-Terrebonne High School senior had been on Houma's Main Street, going store to store distributing fliers.</p><p>One of his stops had been LaTour's Jewelry, where his sister sometimes worked. At the sound of the blast he and his football friends rushed downtown. LaTour's had been torn open by the blast and pieces of its stock hung from overhead wires and court square limbs like Mardi Gras beads.</p><p>David Dupre reports that his mother had been downtown shopping and had just started for home “down the bayou.”</p><p>Just as they crossed the Intracoastal Waterway on the old Main Street bridge, downtown exploded.</p><p>Downtowners: Emanuel Geiger had good reason to recall the explosion, just blocks from his own Main Street store. He knew the date, but not the precise time, e-mailing, “However it was in the evening. I was in our store, Universal Mens Wear at 318 E. Main St. at the time.</p><p>“My mother was an employee of Latour's,” e-mailed Kenneth Dusenberry, 17 years old at the time of the explosion. “Thank God the store was closed at the time!</p><p>“I was an employee of the Bijou theater and a dispatcher for the White Cab Company. ... Main Street looked like a war zone; broken glass from Lafayette to Barrow. ... Martial law was imposed.”</p><p>The National Guard helped city police barricade Main and Lafayette streets to Barrow Street, with no passage allowed at night. “Guardsmen patrolled the area well armed, protecting from looters. ... It was a scary time for a young man just starting his first teenage jobs.”</p><p>Marker: Tammy Londono remembers the date because Assistant Fire Chief Loren Bourg, killed in the explosion “is buried at St. Francis de Sales Cemetery No. 2, behind my family's tomb. The date on Mr. Bourg's tomb is January 24, 1970.”</p><p>Terrebonne Clerk of Court Bobby Boudreaux was inside his offices with the roll-down protective metal shutters closed. The window panes inside were shattered despite the protection.</p><p>Literally dozens of readers contacted us with recollections, far too many to fit this 40th anniversary review. Thanks for the help.</p><p>Pastel workshop: Artists have a Feb. 5 deadline to register for Darlene Johnson's pastel workshop scheduled for Feb. 18-20 at Downtown Art Gallery 630, 630 Belanger St., Houma.</p><p>Classes are scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. Check with the sponsoring Terrebonne Fine Arts Guild for registration information. Workshop fees are $75 and up, depending on membership in the Arts Guild.</p><p>The real beat: The visibly intoxicated owner whose car came to rest upside down told investigators he was not driving, that his girlfriend had been at the wheel but jumped out just 30 seconds before the crash. He was charged with DWI anyway.</p><p>Responding? Contact Bill Ellzey at 381-6256, 876-5638, billellzey312@gmail.com, ellzey@viscom.net or c/o The Courier, P.O. Box 2717, Houma, LA 70361.</p>